November 2010 Archives

Here's the list of leaders in region high school bowling. And there's one thing that really stands out to me ... no boys over the average of 220. Has the graduation of Ryan McCoy, Matt Staninger, Jimmy Kraushaar and Taylor Schwanke really affected competition that much? Guys like them would usually be averaging above 220 this early in the season before things evened out. Sometimes they'd finish the season well above that mark. But no one this year as the calender turns to December? I just find it amazing.

Oh, there is one girl averaging 223. Maybe she's the new superstar in the region ...

Yes, I'm back on a Sunday night after a very interesting day in the NFL, though a couple other sports caught my eyes from my trusty, very comfortable recliner with DirecTV remote in hand ...

-- If two players are going to fight, then Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan and Houston's Andre Johnson did it the right way. Not that I'm condoning what happened between the two players who face each other twice a year and several dozen times in each of those games. But WR Johnson has worn out DB Finnegan over the years, and the latter just let it get to him. As ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer put it, Finnegan tried to "Punk" Johnson, and the pro-bowl WR let his emotions get the best of him. But instead of pushing Finnegan or one of those wimpy baseball fights, Johnson went all out. After Finnegan knocked off Johnson's helmet in the skirmish, Johnson took off Finnegan's, then started whaling on him with punch after punch to the face. Yes, Johnson apologized and said he accepts whatever fate the NFL office deems necessary, but he did something so many wide receivers would like to do to Finnegan and it was entertaining.

-- Are the Bears for real? After beating the Eagles Sunday, I'd say yes. And that's coming from a Packers' fan who is a little disappointed in Green Bay's loss at Atlanta (though the Falcons are nearly unbeatable at home at 19-1 under Matt Ryan ... and the Pack still almost beat them). Jay Cutler was great at QB and the defense handled Michael Vick well. Yes, I wouldn't have minded if the Bears lost so they would still be tied with Green Bay, but Vick losing is still satisfying to me as a fan. I know he paid his debt to society, but that doesn't mean I have to like him the ex-con.

-- How about that NFC West. St. Louis is in first place at 5-6, tied with Seattle. Yes, those same Rams who have been terrible the last couple years are in the hunt for a playoff spot with a rookie QB in Sam Bradford. Is he that good or is the division that bad? Maybe a little of both. The sad part is that someone in that division will make the playoffs while two teams out of Philly, Chicago, Green Bay, NY Giants, New Orleans, Atlanta and Tampa Bay won't make the playoffs.

-- Not that anyone should be paying attention to golf in late November, but another stupid rule cost a player a tourney victory. In the Dubai World Championship, Robert Karlsson edged Ian Poulter in a playoff after Poulter accidentally dropped his ball on the green after marking it. The ball landed on the marker, causing it to move and resulting in a one-stroke penalty. Unbelievable. I hate unwritten rules, so based on that premise, I should be OK with this rule since it's written. But my problem is that it's written in the golf rulebook, which has some of the most idiotic rules in sports.

-- NBA from late Saturday night ... the Bulls went 4-3 on the circus trip without Carlos Boozer while the Miami Heat and the narcissistic triumvirate are just 9-8 on the season after losing to Dallas Saturday. They are 1-7 against teams with winning records this season and have barely beaten some teams with losing records. So this begs the question ... if more than $300 million in contracts results in a 9-8 record, how much should the Heat have spent?

-- Non-sports question of the day. While surfing channels in between the 3 p.m. football games and the night game in which the Colts and Peyton Manning looked real bad, I stumbled upon "The Wizard of Oz" and watched the beginning. Did you ever notice there's an orange brick road next to the yellow brick road in a circle that goes the opposite way. So ... if following the yellow brick road takes you to Oz, where does the orange brick road lead to?

As I recover from a broken foot, the best day of the week is Sunday, sitting at home in my recliner watching the whole spectrum of sports on my satellite TV system.It doesn't get much better, especially during the NFL season.So in what could be a regular segment on my blog, let's look back at an exciting Sunday ...

-- Same old, same old in NASCAR as Jimmie Johnson won his fifth straight Sprint Cup title. Either the guy is awesome or he's cheating. I would think NASCAR would've caught him if the latter were true, so he must be the greatest driver ever. But one thing I was disappointed with was Denny Hamlin, who had the points lead headed into the final race at Homestead in Miami, Fla., not giving any credit to Johnson's team after the race in his interview with ESPN. No, "Congratulations to the 48 team" or anything similar. Kevin Harvick, the other driver who was still in the Chase hunt, gave Johnson kudos. Not Hamlin ... not classy.

-- For once I actually watched the BCS ranking show where the top 10 are announced and now, more than ever, I want to see TCU and Boise State in the national championship game. I know I'm in the minority with most college football fans wanting to see big schools facing off, but I'm all for the little guy. Not to mention it could be the spark that leads to a playoff sooner rather than later.

-- Pardon me while I shed a tear for what looks like the nail in the coffin of Brett Favre's NFL career. OK, maybe not. For those who don't know, I'm a lifelong Packers fan (actually, I'm a shareholder of the only publicly-owned professional sports franchise), so seeing my Pack pound the Vikings in the Rollerdome was gratifying. But seeing Favre's failure makes it especially good. When he stops wearing purple, I'll go back to loving No. 4. But right now, it's nice watching his life turn into a depressing Country & Western song -- on the brink of divorce, pending NFL investigation, deteriorating skills, not talking to his coach, ruining team chemistry. All he needs now is for his pickup truck to be stolen, his dog to die and his Wrangler jeans to rip and Brad Paisley will have a No. 1 hit on his hands about Favre's year.

-- Speaking of Paisley, who won Best Male Country Artist on the American Music Awards, here's a non-sports item from Sunday. (Yes, I pay attention to more than sports, though not too much more.) Can somebody slap Justin Bieber, please?!?! Oh wait ... he's a minor. Maybe his mom can spank him. Not because he's an annoying teenager who's getting way too much attention. Not because he has a bad haircut. I'd just like somebody to punish him for making stupid statements after winning four AMAs, including Artist of the Year. After the first one, he said it was great for someone like him to win coming from "one of the smallest towns in the world" ... then he said that town had about 30,000 people. Oh really? That population makes it one of the smallest towns in the world? Then what's that make the town I was born in since it only had 5,000 people? How about people born in towns with 500 people? Then, after the second award, he thanked Michael Jackson and said, "Without him none of us would be here." Oh really? So Michael Jackson invented music? Before him, no one sang? So the American Music Awards wouldn't exist without Michael Jackson? Uh, I don't think so. Dick Clark created the AMAs in 1973 to compete with the Grammys, not to honor Michael Jackson. But I guess that's what the fans get for idolizing a 16-year-old twerp.

It took me all day on Friday to think about the news about the Northwestern-Illinois college football game at Wrigley Field and the rule change to protect players from being decapitated by a brick wall.You see, the configuration of the football field inside the bandbox known as Wrigley Field has the back of the east endzone less than a foot from the brick wall.So the Big Ten decided to have both teams only play offense going toward the west endzone while all kickoffs will go toward the east endzone. The teams will also rotate which sideline they will use each half.Part of my brain says it's all good for the safety of the kids. That's obvious. But the cynical part of my brain wonders why it took so long.Didn't they know the measurements months ago? Couldn't they have figured it out much earlier?There's also a part of my brain that wishes the powers that be could have decided to have the endzones only nine yard deep inside of 10. Then you could take that extra six feet and add it to the end of the east endzone for more buffer before the wall.The Bears played in Wrigley for years with one of the endzones only nine yards deep. Why not do it now.Oh well ... the dumb sportswriters always take a backseat to even dumber sports executives.But at least the fans with tickets on the west end will get their money's worth and then some.

There were a couple great games on Friday with three Northwest Indiana football teams advancing to the semistate -- Valparaiso in 5A, Morton in 4A and Rensselaer in 2A.The Governors are easily the best story of those -- at least in my humble opinion -- after not winning a sectional title before last season and now winning its first regional title. But Morton's game also produced the stat of the night ... maybe the year.Or is it really the meaningless bit of information of the season.Friday's game at Concord was the first game Morton has played outside of Lake County since 1991, though on the Northern Indiana Football website, it looks like it could be 1989 (two games against Illinois squads in 1991 say "vs." instead of "at", which usually means home games). Either way, that's a long freaking time!You would think the Govs would accidentally schedule a game against a Porter County team ... maybe against Wheeler in the last couple years of the Lake Athletic Conference.Maybe it's the weird stat of the season, but either way, Morton coach Roydon Richards deserves a ton of credit for turning his program into a state power.Let'e see if they can keep it going a couple more weeks.

I would have had this blog up earlier, but it was a long day yesterday, especially hopping around with a cast on my right foot.Why was it a long day? It was the first meet for the Mount Carmel bowling team I coach.And why do I coach the team?Luise Lesser.Yeah, I get paid, but it's not much compared to the work put into it. But it's worth it because I get to teach kids the game of bowling, see them improve, see them have fun and see them relish success, whether it's team or individual achievement.That's the attitude Luise exuded.She never let any disease or illness prevent her from providing bowling tournaments for the kids who were members of the Illiana Youth Scholarship Bowlers Tour.The LaPorte native had cancer for a few years, but it never stopped the IYSBT from moving along ... until this year when her cancer returned aggressively and eventually took her life on Monday morning.There are other dedicated bowling people in Northwest Indiana who either coach, run high school conferences or youth programs. But none will compare to Luise. She did it without regard to her own health. In fact, she once told me watching the kids while running a weekend tourney made her feel better physically ... at least for a short time.Didn't know bowling could be an elixir, did you? Luise did.I can only hope to be as dedicated as her. Yes, I help promote and run a couple youth tourneys each season, but that's only two. She ran dozens.Yes, I coach a bowling team, but I get paid for it. She sometimes put money into prize funds out of her own pocket for the kids.No one can compare to Luise when it comes to Northwest Indiana youth bowling. But those of us who remember her and miss her can try to come close.And following that theme, I'm in the process of changing the name of the Post-Tribune Youth Scholarship bowling event in the spring. I'm hoping our ninth annual tourney can have the words "Luise Lesser Memorial Tournament" attached to it. It would be a small, but fitting remembrance of a woman who cared about youth bowlers more than herself.

He's either loved or hated in Northwest Indiana bowling circles.At least that's the way it's come across to me over the years. I still remember watching Eugene McCune on TV inside the Olympia Lanes Pro Shop back when his dad, Don, worked there.That's who I feel happiest about. Don didn't get to see Eugene's first PBA title in person -- 2002 in Grand Rapids, Mich., when he defeated Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the final. This time the stars were aligned for the McCunes.The World Series of Bowling was in Las Vegas. Don now lives in Vegas. Eugene got hot in the Cheetah Championship, setting a PBA 9-game scoring record in the process of earning the top seed in the stepladder finals. Then he gets to face Norm Duke in the final.Who knew Eugene owns Duke on television?In case you didn't read my story in Saturday's Post-Tribune, Eugene said he's 6-0 against Duke in TV matches, though they've all been close ... just like Friday's final in which Eugene needed 9-spare-strike to win by one pin.He did exactly that, overcoming a distraction in his approach on the final ball to throw a perfect strike and almost decapitate his dad (Eugene said Don almost fell out of the stands jumping up when he struck on that ball).So you may not like Eugene McCune, but no one can deny that the Munster native deserved to win his second PBA title more than anyone else. After 24 years on tour, he's had his best overall seasons the last two years (17th and 15th in the points standings), but no titles in those seasons. He's got one of the most powerful balls on tour, but only one career title before Friday. Now he's got two, and a PBA record to boot.Nice job Eugene. Why not get another later this season?

But that doesn't mean all is peaches and cream and happy-go-lucky.Yes, the top three boys and girls teams (below in the Post-Tribune preseason top 3s) should be among those vying for postseason hardware, and I wouldn't doubt that another Northwest Indiana team will challenge for a state title.Maybe it will be one of the teams below, maybe somebody else.And I have no doubt multiple individuals will reach the state finals in the singles tourney.But all the excitement that usually comes with the beginning of high school bowling for me is tempered by a disturbing trend in the region that has reached epidemic proportions in one conference.That epidemic is the loss of girls teams that has resulted in the WestLake Conference only having three teams.Yes, I said three. I'm sure there are other region bowling fans who are just as shocked as I was when I heard that number.The teams are Merrillville, Lake Central and Crown Point -- the three biggest schools in the conference. But there are eight boys teams with Andrean, Munster, Bowman Academy, Bishop Noll and Clark the ones without girls' squads.Are you telling me schools like Andrean and Munster can't muster up enough girls to form a team?Munster won the girls state title in 2002 and it hasn't had a full girls bowling team in at least three years.That's pathetic. I won't blame any specific person or entity for these schools not having girls teams, but someone is to blame, that's for sure.No one is dedicated enough to promote bowling within the school? I guess maybe the schools themselves might not be cooperative with coaches trying to promote the sport. If that's true, then shame on those schools and someone should be fired for that.The WestLake isn't the only conference in trouble when it comes to girls teams. The Suburban only has five teams compared to eight boys teams. The Porter-LaPorte only has four girls teams. Now it only has five boys teams, so that's not as drastic, but when that one missing girls team is attributed to Valparaiso, one of the bigger schools in the area, that's pathetic.Sorry to repeat that word, but it's truly how I feel and I don't hold back.Even though the season has begun, I think conference coordinators need to meet with each other, then meet with coaches to do something about the lack of girls teams. It's not too late to get girls out for bowling right now.There's always a reason for everything. I just find it hard to believe, and I will not accept, that girls aren't willing to come out for bowling while boys are. It's all about promoting the sport and people need to work harder to do that or find someone who will work harder.Now that I got that off my chest, here's our top 3 boys and girls teams ...

P-T Top 3BOYS1. Lake CentralBlue Indians may have lost some talent, but there's still plenty at LCs to provide hopes for another long postseason run.2. PortageRed Indians won the South Bend Clay Invite on Oct. 17. That could be just the beginning of the winning for a team bringing back its core.3. Crown PointBulldogs surprised LC in WestLake last season. CP won't surprise anyone this year, but they'll still be very good.

GIRLS1. PortageRed Indians' victory in the Post-Tribune Preseason Bowl O-Rama just the start as Moyer, Saikin and company want another chance in the state finals.2. Kankakee ValleyWith Grover and Ellenson still on the roster, don't underestimate the Kougars and how far they could advance come postseason.3. Lake CentralYeah, we know LC lost two of its best bowlers in program history, but there is still plenty of talent for another postseason run.

Steve Gorches

Steve T. Gorches has been writing for the Post-Tribune since 1999, covering everything from basketball to football to NASCAR to being a national award-winning bowling writer. The Hammond Clark graduate of 1988 became the P-T's deputy sports editor in 2008. The versatile writer has covered two Indiana girls basketball state finals, five gymnastics state finals, two volleyball state finals, six softball state finals, five Brickyard 400 NASCAR races, two Formula One United States Grand Prix races, college and pro basketball, two PGA tournaments and three PBA majors, as well as all 11 Indiana High School Bowling state finals.